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Stupid news

The headline on Stuff.co.nz, since 2:48pm this afternoon, has been "Boat slams into pole," with a picture of a guy in a boat that's crashed into a pole. The byline declares, "A Greymouth daredevil has survived smashing his speedboat full-speed into a pole."

The editors' picks include:

"Exercise is futile for weight loss"

"Death follows birth online"

"The Mad Butcher's problems."

On the NZ Herald website's front page I see:

"Five foods to eat for a flat stomach"

"Gumboot throwing champs: 'It's a technique'"

"Watch: Kiwi's boat disaster goes viral," (yep, you guessed it)

"Oscars stuff-up - is this the smoking gun?"

Let's look at Newshub:

"Trash talk: Should Maccas diners clear their tables?"

"Is this the most Westie wedding of all time?"

"Would you pay $59 to go 'all the way' with Max Key?"

"Leo DiCaprio's high-brow Oscars beauty regime."

Even The Spinoff, a supposedly better, alternative source of news, headlines mummy-swearer Emily Writes' fear of Kiefer Sutherland and two stories about Lorde's new single.

Only RadioNZ's homepage offers news without the fluffy, stupid stuff (apart from the Oscars non-story).

Ok, I'm exaggerating for this post's effect but, for god's sake, what gives with our news New Zealand? Is it just me who is sick to death of enduring trivia packaged as news? Is the population's collective IQ really so low that we won't click without the crap? Or are our journalists and editors just taking the piss?

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